Lea sheriff’s deputy arrested on sex charge

A Lea County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested Wednesday on criminal sexual penetration charges.

At around 4 p.m. Wednesday the Hobbs Police Department received a call from the Lea County Detention Center in regards to a female inmate reporting that she had been allegedly sexually assaulted by Edmund Wallace, a Lea County Sheriff’s deputy, while being transported from Hobbs, to the county jail in Lovington.

The female reported that after her arraignment in Hobbs Magistrate Court she was driven to an unknown location in Hobbs where oral sex was performed on the deputy.

The Hobbs Police Department conducted the investigation and interviewed the victim as well as Deputy Wallace. During the interview Wallace admitted that he allowed the victim to perform oral sex on him after leaving Hobbs Magistrate Court and prior to arrival at LCDC.

Wallace, 31, of Hobbs, was placed under arrest for criminal sexual penetration, a second degree felony. Wallace was booked at the Hobbs City Jail and then transported to the Eddy County Detention Center in Carlsbad.

After arraignment by Judge Craig LaBree, Wallace is being held on a $5000 cash/surety bond.

Sheriff Byron Wester and the Lea County Sheriff’s Department have been fully cooperative throughout the investigation.